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Home » NewsPoverty and the pandemic: A poor mother’s plight
An elderly woman is seen collecting her meagre poverty allowance of Rs. 1000 from the Grandpass post office where the officers are fully protected with a polythene cover at the counter and wearing Personal Protective Equipment, spotlighting the people’s battle against the twin evils of poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic by Akila Jayawardana
Human rights commitments being implemented: Govt.
Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris this week handed over to UN Head in Sri Lanka Haana Singer-Hamdy the first copy of a 13-page response to obviate criticism over non-implementation of key elements in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution passed early this year. The 13-page note prepared on the eve of the forthcoming UNHRC sessions [...]
Pandemic rages on,145 deaths yesterday; death toll 9,951
With another 145 COVID-19 related deaths reported yesterday, Sri Lanka’s total pandemic death toll reached the 9,951 mark. By yesterday, the total active cases were 63,844, while the total number of cases reported so far is 456,126. According to the Presidential Secretariat’s COVID-19 live dashboard, higher numbers of deaths are from the age groups of [...]
Freshwater heavily polluted; refining cost surges
Sri Lanka’s freshwater sources are now so polluted that the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) is spending increasingly more money to refine drinking water, the National Audit Office (NAO) and officials said. The steep cost was owing to high levels of contaminants in the water obtained for treatment, said the NAO report published [...]
Fully vaccinated tourists free to travel anywhere during restrictions for locals
The Director General of Health Services has given clearance for fully vaccinated tourists and those who have completed their quarantine period to move out of the bubble and visit other areas of the country. Health Services Director General Dr Asela Gunawardena on Friday conveyed the decision to all provincial Directors of Health Services, Regional Directors [...]
Cabraal pushes for pension with arrears for all Central Bank governors
The Monetary Board (MB) has approved pensions with arrears for several former and the incumbent Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka irrespective of the lengths of their tenures, the Sunday Times learns. The CBSL Secretariat Department is implementing the decision and working out the arrears payments, authoritative sources said. Under the new scheme, [...]
New Zealand attacker identified; Lankan police on trail of his contacts
The Sri Lankan national shot dead inside a shopping mall in Auckland on Friday after he attacked several locals has been identified as Ahamed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen, a 32-year-old from the Eastern town of Kattankudy. He went to New Zealand on a student visa in 2011 and then asked for political asylum claiming he and [...]
China-owned ports report Rs 1b dividend to Sri Lanka Ports Authority
China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPH) has declared a dividend of Rs. 1.05 billion to the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA), while announcing in the past week that its first half net profit had shot up by 204.7% to HK$4.71 billion (Rs 120.61 billion), from HK$1.54 billion in 2020. It is not clear when the payout [...]
Ivermectin divides doctors while NMRA gives waiver to import drug to stop black market sales
The medical fraternity is heavily divided over the use of Ivermectin in COVID-19 treatment and prevention, with many arguments for and against on social media. Ivermectin, which comes in tablet form, is a medication for the treatment of parasite infestations. A high-level group of experts has reiterated that there is “insufficient evidence” to recommend for [...]
Sunday Times Deputy Editor Namini inducted to prestigious ICIJ
The Sunday Times Deputy Editor (Investigations) Namini Wijedasa has been selected by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) as one of its distinguished worldwide members, the consortium announced this week. She is only the second Sri Lankan journalist to be inducted to this prestigious body, the first being Sunday Times Consultant Editor/Political Editor [...]
Downtime in remote lessons becomes a drag for some parents
Some parents say they are baffled by the continuing suspension of online lessons by teachers who are campaigning to remedy salary anomalies. The unions of teachers and principals have rejected counter proposals made by the Government. Government school teachers have now boycotted online instruction for a 55th consecutive day. They also threaten to stay away [...]
Lankans in Afghanistan say Govt ignoring evacuation pleas; ambassador denies charge
Sri Lankans stranded in Afghanistan are claiming that the Sri Lankan Government has ignored their pleas to be evacuated back home. Earlier it was reported that some 20 plus Lankans had opted to stay back in their jobs in security detail with the United Nations in Afghanistan. However, when the Sunday Times spoke to some [...]
Down-but -not-out UNP marks 75 years today
The United National Party (UNP), the country’s second oldest recognised political party, marks its 75th anniversary today with celebrations being observed online through the Facebook and YouTube platforms due to the ongoing quarantine curfew. The party that formed the first Government in independent Sri Lanka, and was in office several times, faced its worst setback [...]
A little learning is a dangerous thing, survey finds
More than half of the Sri Lankan student population has had no access to education since the pandemic hit. According to research conducted by the Education Forum, only 45 percent of the student population had access to online education, leaving 55 per cent of Sri Lanka’s children behind. The survey, conducted in November 2020, revealed [...]
Govt. moves fast to force down sugar and rice prices
The Commissioner-General of Essential Services (CGES), locked in a bitter battle over lowering commodity prices, this week flexed its muscle by seizing stocks of sugar that merchants had held back from the market to force price rises. Similar action would be taken over other essential commodities if shortages occurred, the Government warned. The Commissioner-General, appointed [...]
Dollar shortage cripples gas, milk importers
A shortage of US dollars has hit LPG (liquid petroleum gas) and milk powder importers, who are finding it difficult to honour payments to suppliers. Laugfs Gas Plc said it has fallen behind in payments and cannot distribute enough LPG gas to meet domestic demand. CEO W.H.K. Wegapitiya said although container loads of gas is [...]
COVID-19 can affect your heart; take care of it
Rushed to the Cardiology Institute of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) “quite late” after suffering from a massive heart attack, the 40-year-old breadwinner of his family has been stented and now is back home safe and sound. It was not just a heart attack but one brought on by insidious COVID-19 and donning [...]
Newly formed Govt. Medical Professionals’ Association concerned over ad hoc vaccination programme
The ad hoc vaccination programme against COVID-19 has caused much concern among the newly formed Government Medical Professionals’ Association (GMPA), with state doctors banding together to address critical issues faced by the public with constructive suggestions. Before focusing on the specific concept of vaccination, GMPA President Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe says that vaccinating a person and [...]
Keeping a close eye on elderly homes, says National Secretariat for Elders
There have been some COVID-19 infections in elderly homes scattered around the country, but the deaths are lower than in the community outside these homes, the Director of the National Secretariat for Elders (NSE), Kapila Lanerolle told the Sunday Times on Friday night. Assuring that the NSE is doing everything possible to prevent not only [...]
Let’s deal with Delta and worry about Mu later; be wary when letting in travellers & tourists
With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the Mu variant (B.1.621) as one of “interest”, experts told the Sunday Times that the first priority for Sri Lanka is to deal effectively with the rampaging Delta variant which is leaving a trail of death and destruction within the country. “It is not clear whether Mu will [...]
A reminder to the public: Essentials of COVID-19
Re-visiting the essentials of COVID-19 for the public, Specialist Physician in General Medicine Prof. Chamila Mettananda says that it is a viral infection like the flu. The disease spreads mainly by respiratory droplets and rarely through airborne transmission. The incubation period of this virus is 1 to 14 days but mostly 4-5 days. “The severity [...]
SLMA makes strong recommendations to save lives
Treat as the “first priority” vaccinating all persons over 60 years of age and those between 18-60 with co-morbidities as early as possible, while giving a 3rd dose with Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna (Spikevax) to ‘specific’ categories, the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) Expert Committee has strongly recommended. Urging that an active effort must be [...]